Chapter 9: You Have a Home in Jiangzhou?
"This is none of your business."
He Xulin's tone stayed ice-cold, like a machine stripped of feeling.
"How is it none of my business? You're my son today, you're my son for life. That's a fact you can't change!"
He Zhenhua's temper flared on cue. "He Xulin, I'm warning you. Those stray cats and dogs out there—play with them if you must, but don't you dare bring them into the He family. The He family's daughter-in-law has to be from a matching background."
"Matching background?" He Xulin let out a soft scoff, the air around him seeming to freeze solid. "You and my mother were a perfect match. She still didn't come to a good end."
"I told you, that was an accident. I got held up that night—I didn't stay away on purpose!"
At the mention of his late ex-wife, He Zhenhua's voice wavered, and his volume dropped several notches.
He Xulin went silent again.
They'd been through this topic many times before.
Every time, He Zhenhua had a reason, an excuse to clear his own name. But what good did explaining do? The fact remained: his mother had died alone on that stormy night.
Both ends of the line went still, neither speaking.
Over the years, this silence had become the norm for their father-son calls.
"This Saturday is your little brother's birthday. Auntie Qian is throwing him a party. Come home for it—the whole family together, nice and lively."
He Zhenhua returned to the point.
As for He Xulin's girlfriend, the boy was still young, nowhere near marriage age. He'd probably get bored in a few days and break up on his own. No need to rush into dealing with it.
"My mother had only one son her whole life. If you're so fond of being someone else's father, Mr. He, go right ahead and do it yourself. Leave me out of it." He Xulin's voice was thin and cold.
"He Xulin, Xiao Tao has been with the He family for over ten years. All these years he's called you 'Brother' again and again—did those words go to the dogs? How can you be so cold-blooded and heartless?" He Zhenhua was roaring into the phone again.
Mockery crossed He Xulin's face, along with a trace of bleakness.
What a fine father he had. To another man's son, he said "Xiao Tao," all warmth. To his own flesh and blood, he screamed the full name.
Truly, a picture of paternal love and filial devotion.
He Xulin was the only son of He Zhenhua and his first wife, Bai Yuehua.
The He-Bai marriage had been arranged by the elders. Both parties were talented and good-looking, their backgrounds perfectly matched.
But He Zhenhua had never been happy with the arrangement. After the wedding, his thoughts kept drifting to Qian Ning, the impoverished student he'd sponsored—his white moonlight.
When He Xulin was seven, on a day of thunder and driving rain, his mother's depression took a turn for the worse. His father wasn't home. He Xulin watched his mother bleed to death in his arms.
Barely a hundred days after Bai Yuehua's death, He Zhenhua rushed to marry Qian Ning.
The day Qian Ning moved into the He house, she brought along a son the same age as He Xulin—Wang Tao.
From then on, He Xulin never expected anything from the word "Dad" again.
-
In the cafeteria.
[Xia Xia, you full yet? Go check Kangkang—how much did the male lead top up for you?] QQ was buzzing with anticipation.
"What's got you so worked up? It's just a cafeteria card. He won't put in much." Wen Tingxia sounded indifferent, but her feet had ideas of their own, carrying her straight to the card reader.
*Beep.*
The milky-white machine flashed a bright red balance: 2031.56 RMB.
[He put in two thousand yuan! La la la, la la la, we won't starve for at least two months!] QQ was dancing with joy.
Wen Tingxia stared blankly.
She hadn't expected He Xulin to give her that much.
She and he had gotten together over an absurd bet. All told, they'd met three times.
They weren't close, not really.
"I don't quite understand what he's doing," Wen Tingxia said, unable to name what she felt.
[Two minutes late, two thousand yuan. The male lead has a strong sense of responsibility. Maybe this is his way of apologizing. Xia Xia, I'll ship my CP, but don't you go falling for him for real. You and he only have three months of fate.]
He Xulin was too outstanding a catch. QQ never forgot to remind its host.
"Relax, I know. It's a mission."
Out of the cafeteria, walking the quiet paths of Tsinghua, Wen Tingxia faced the rippling lake and drew a deep breath. A faint smile spread across her face, full of hope for the future.
Sisters, who gets this? This is Tsinghua.
She'd been reborn, and she'd made it into Tsinghua.
[The air at Tsinghua really is different, isn't it?]
QQ picked up on her thoughts and grew a little wistful itself. [How many students grind away for over a decade, all for a shot at Tsinghua or Peking University?]
[Xia Xia, my records show you were a top student in your last life too. Like the original host, you supported yourself on scholarships. So why didn't you end up at Tsinghua?]
"Something happened during the Gaokao."
In her final semester of senior year, Wen Tingxia's scores on all three mock exams had cleared Tsinghua's cutoff. She was set on Tsinghua—her dream school.
But on the day of the Gaokao, her period came early.
Unprecedented cramps tore through her lower belly in waves. She was in the exam hall with no ibuprofen, no painkillers of any kind.
She was an orphan. No parent waiting outside to hand her anything.
Drenched in cold sweat, the world swimming dark around her, Wen Tingxia gritted her teeth through one subject after another.
In the end, she scored high enough for a 985 university—but Tsinghua slipped through her fingers.
"Since fate's given me another shot at Tsinghua, I should actually learn something this time."
[I can help with that.]
Studying was QQ's specialty.
Before it took on romance missions, it had been a gold-medal grind system.
If grinding doesn't kill you, grind until it does.
Wen Tingxia spent the whole afternoon in the library. The study tasks QQ set were terrifying.
"You're sure this is something a human can finish?"
[Of course. Everyone has limitless potential. Xia Xia, you can do it.]
Now it was PUA-ing her, too.
Back at the dorm, Wen Tingxia collapsed face-down on her desk, utterly lifeless. "Little Penguin, are you a demon?"
[What an affectionate nickname. You're not the first host to call me that. All the hosts I've guided were outstanding—every one either got into Tsinghua or Peking University. A few went to National Defense University. I've never failed.] QQ swelled with pride at its track record.
Its past hosts all called it a demon when they were exhausted, threatening to format it. But the moment the admission letter arrived, the first person they thanked was it.
The curtain on the second bunk pulled back, and Su Xiaobai's chubby bun of a face poked out. "Xia Xia, you're back."
She climbed down the ladder as she spoke.
"Mm. Just got back from the library."
Wen Tingxia stayed slumped over the desk, too tired to lift her head.
"Have you eaten? I'm going down to grab food—want me to bring you something?" Su Xiaobai's eyes landed frankly on Wen Tingxia's willow waist. How could it be that thin?
So envious.
Huh?
Wen Tingxia's eyes lit up. She flashed Su Xiaobai a finger-heart. "Yes please, Xiaobai. You're the best—a little angel. Love you."
The timid girl turned sweet as honey around other girls.
QQ: [Hmph. I don't see you like this with the male lead. So you can act cute and coax people after all. Use that talent—go coax the male lead some more.]
He Xulin?
Going by the clingy-girlfriend persona, shouldn't she be asking He Xulin to dinner?
But QQ was wholly absorbed in drafting a CET-6 study plan and hadn't thought of it yet. Wen Tingxia didn't hesitate—she decisively had Su Xiaobai bring her food.
Clinginess was such a hassle. She and He Xulin had already eaten together two meals in a row. Cloying.
Even lovers needed some space, didn't they?
While she ate, QQ played her a TED talk in pure English for listening practice.
After the meal, per QQ's arrangement, Wen Tingxia pulled out a book on artificial intelligence applications she'd borrowed from the library and started reading—prep work for future papers, it said.
Her major at Tsinghua was Artificial Intelligence.
It wasn't until late that night, after Wen Tingxia had showered and fallen asleep in bed, that QQ sensed something was off. It felt like it had forgotten something.
What had it forgotten?
Uneasy, QQ pulled out the study plan it had made and went over it again and again. As a grind system, its study plans were not permitted a single loophole.